“A man? What man?” said Tuke.
“George, sir, looking from above, cries that ’tis him with the white hair.”
“Come with me and have your gun in readiness.”
Betty ran forward with clasped hands.
“Oh! don’t go, don’t go!” she whispered.
He smiled down upon her.
He strode out of the room and cried in a sharp voice: “Who’s there?”
“John Fern, by your leave, sir.”
“Are you tired of life, fellow?”
“I am a humble3 dependent on your bounty4, Mr. Tuke. I come with a flag of truce5, trusting to your honour.”
“I have none for vermin. We may shoot such sitting.”
“Be generous, sir. We are trapped. Frost and starvation have worked for you.”
“I am beholden to them. They are good agents of retribution.”
“Will you not be merciful? We surrender at discretion6.”
“You are too late in coming to it.”
“For the love of God, sir, take me in and hear me!”
The gentleman hesitated and pondered. Were the man in truth alone, he could not see what ruse7 might be designed. His tale, too, was probable enough. Baulked in their outrageous8 plot at the very outset, what likelihood was there that the improvident9 scoundrels would have calculated against such a contingency10 as the present one?
“Wait!” he called suddenly, “and I will consider.”
He whispered his man to stand rigidly11 on guard, and, going softly, ascended12 the stairs to an upper room that would command view of the porch at an angle. Here cautiously he unbarred and opened the shutters13 and looked forth14. The closing dusk played like smoke on the great snow-heaps that stretched all about the house and to the opening of the drive to his right, where a billowy rampart of whiteness marked the termination of the path cut by the besiegers. Thence, to the front-door, an irregular slur15 in the frozen carpet betokened16 the further passage to the house forced by his visitor below, whose broad squat17 figure he could distinguish set squarely in the shadow of the porch. Elsewhere there was no sign of life or movement. Dead winter reigned18 in the fields of fallen snow, in the stony19 sky, in the stark20 and sapless branches of the trees. The man was alone, as he had stated, and beyond the immediate21 reach of his comrades.
He descended22 swiftly to the hall once more. The faithful William stood at cock as he had left him.
“Are you there?” he cried.
“I am here, sir.”
“Mr. Tuke—you can trust me!”
He inside unhitched the fastenings—snapped key and bolts. “Cover him, Will,” he said, and swung open the door.
Mr. Fern walked in with a very humble obeisance24. A white down of many days’ growth bristled25 villainously on his chin. He looked battered27 and unkempt, but not ill-nourished for a starving man.
The door re-locked and made secure: “Go before into that room,” said Tuke, “and remember that you tread on glass, sir.”
“I make no protest, Mr. Tuke. I assume your action guarantees me a safe-conduct, and that the fact that the muzzle28 of your servant’s piece actually touches my head argues no base intent on his part.”
“He is fairly efficient with his weapon, sir. I warn you he answers to the prick29 of discipline. Shoot this man at sight, William, if he attempts to move.”
He had signed to the smooth ruffian to stand with his back against the table.
“Sir,” said Fern, “will you not hear me speak?”
“Before witnesses, fellow. Believe me, I’ve had enough of your sole company to serve me a lifetime.”
He was turning to go, when he was aware of the girl standing30, with frightened eyes, in the shadow of the hearth31.
“Before God, sweetheart,” he cried, “I commit you to rare company! This is the hound, Betty, that wrought32 you a cur’s vengeance33!”
“Give me your piece, William, and go summon Sir David and Whimple hither. I will not let him out of my sight.”
The groom36 obeyed and hurried off. The moment he was vanished Betty came like a tassel-gentle to her master’s call.
“He is an old man,” she said. “He should have had pity for white hairs. Why were you so cruel to my grandfather, sir?”
“Young lady,” said Fern sorrowfully—“whoever it was worked you that wicked wrong—and I confess I have my suspicions—hath unwittingly, it seems, provided it a golden sequel. Like the beautiful phœnix, which you may have read of, you renew yourself in the ashes of your own destruction, and you shall wear fine feathers yet in a triumph over misfortune.”
“Don’t answer him, Betty,” said her master; “and go up-stairs, wench. I’ll not have you breathe in the same room with him.”
The girl went to the door, looked back wistfully, and obeyed, at the moment that the groom, followed by the two he had been dispatched for, entered the dining-hall.
Sir David’s face expressed sufficient astonishment38.
“Who the thunder’s this?” said he, stopping blank on the threshold.
“This is the affable Mr. Fern, Blythewood, who comes to surrender himself into our hands. The frost, he says, has demoralized his gang.”
“Sir David,” quoth the other, mindful of his prisoner’s face, “how is our company disposed?”
“Why, man—here are we four; Captain Luvaine and Jim are on guard; Lord Dunlone is above, and the boy, a sterling40 lad, keeps watch at the window.”
“Did you speak?” said Mr. Tuke politely.
The man muttered something in the nature of a negative.
“Oh!” said the gentleman—“I thought perhaps you fancied you had put your head into a hornet’s nest. Is that you, Whimple? Were you successful?”
The servant spoke43 in a strange pre-occupied voice. He stood in the shadow of the flung-back door, and from his covert44 he looked upon the old enemy of his peace with tranced, motionless eyes, and the expression of one who dreamed a nightmare “and woke to find it truth.” Even Mr. Fern showed some embarrassment45 under the pitiless scrutiny46.
“May I speak at last?” he said, uneasily shifting his head, so that his glance fell upon the opening of the door. “I own us bested at every turn, Mr. Tuke—and—here’s for you, by God!”
The room was lighted only by some candles burning in a sconce within his short reach on the table; and by a sudden adroit47 movement he had thrown these down.
A fiery50 tooth tore itself through Tuke’s shoulder, while an explosion shook the room. In one wild instant all was uproar51 and confusion, in the midst of which the groom ran to the hearth and kicked the smouldering logs into a blaze. Light leapt up, and revealed a struggling and swaying block of men down by the door, and in the aperture52 above a dark figure standing irresolute53.
The hoary55 scoundrel had played his jack56 to an ace37. Seeing the long shadow of his partner creeping forward in the light of the hall, he had assumed him supported by their full force and had struck on the instant. His blow was miscalculated. Brander, it seemed, was alone. The latter stooped forward eagerly, a pistol raised in his hand. His difficulty was to hit the pigeon and not the crow. The flash of indecision cost him dear. Tuke, trailing on his knees, fired full at him, and the fellow doubled and collapsed57 on the step like a kinked sand-bag.
Fern was under Whimple and Sir David. He struggled like a madman. The taut58 strength of the old villain26 was amazing. The groom was hurrying to help, when the baronet, spun59 aside as if he were a child, crashed against him and both tumbled on the floor in a heap. In the same moment the robber tore his remaining adversary60 beneath him, scrambled61 up and squatted62 on the man’s legs, and, his eyes streaked63 with passion, clubbed his discharged pistol to brain him. With a desperate effort Dennis jerked up his knees, and shot the fellow face downwards64 upon himself once more. Fern gave a cry like a lashed65 dog, and rolled off and over on to his back. The servant had simply held his knife upwards66 and hurled67 the other to his own immolation68.
The victor, quite maddened and overwrought, rose to his knees, and crying: “For my father that you murdered!” drove his blade over and over again into the quivering body. Then, suddenly, he cast the weapon from him and himself upon the boards, where he buried his face in his hands and fell crying and sobbing69.
Now this was all a matter of a few seconds, but the noise had roused the household; and steps were heard hurrying down the stairs—as Sir David and the groom having come to their feet again were all re-making for the combatants—when the climax70 of the tragedy broke in a clap of fury to which the prelude71 had been a whisper. For, in some quarter of the house, a sudden shot rang out, and immediately there was a roar like a peal72 of subterranean73 thunder, and on its heels a hell of clanging and splintering sounds and the explosion of shattered glass—and the very floor of the room seemed to yawn and belch74 forth flame and cloud, as if a crater75 were formed beneath the foundations of the building.
Half-blinded and half-stunned, Tuke staggered to his feet and stood reeling. A monstrous76 silence succeeded the uproar, accented only—as a spout77 of black smoke rose to the ceiling and blossomed out there into a great fungus78 of death—with falling and tinkling79 sounds as of glass and dropping plaster. Then, close at hand, he heard voices crying to him, and he tottered80 towards them.
点击收听单词发音
1 parley | |
n.谈判 | |
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2 muffled | |
adj.(声音)被隔的;听不太清的;(衣服)裹严的;蒙住的v.压抑,捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 );用厚厚的衣帽包着(自己) | |
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3 humble | |
adj.谦卑的,恭顺的;地位低下的;v.降低,贬低 | |
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4 bounty | |
n.慷慨的赠予物,奖金;慷慨,大方;施与 | |
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5 truce | |
n.休战,(争执,烦恼等的)缓和;v.以停战结束 | |
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6 discretion | |
n.谨慎;随意处理 | |
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7 ruse | |
n.诡计,计策;诡计 | |
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8 outrageous | |
adj.无理的,令人不能容忍的 | |
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9 improvident | |
adj.不顾将来的,不节俭的,无远见的 | |
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10 contingency | |
n.意外事件,可能性 | |
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11 rigidly | |
adv.刻板地,僵化地 | |
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12 ascended | |
v.上升,攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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13 shutters | |
百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 ); (照相机的)快门 | |
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14 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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15 slur | |
v.含糊地说;诋毁;连唱;n.诋毁;含糊的发音 | |
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16 betokened | |
v.预示,表示( betoken的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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17 squat | |
v.蹲坐,蹲下;n.蹲下;adj.矮胖的,粗矮的 | |
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18 reigned | |
vi.当政,统治(reign的过去式形式) | |
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19 stony | |
adj.石头的,多石头的,冷酷的,无情的 | |
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20 stark | |
adj.荒凉的;严酷的;完全的;adv.完全地 | |
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21 immediate | |
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的 | |
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22 descended | |
a.为...后裔的,出身于...的 | |
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23 twitch | |
v.急拉,抽动,痉挛,抽搐;n.扯,阵痛,痉挛 | |
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24 obeisance | |
n.鞠躬,敬礼 | |
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25 bristled | |
adj. 直立的,多刺毛的 动词bristle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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26 villain | |
n.反派演员,反面人物;恶棍;问题的起因 | |
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27 battered | |
adj.磨损的;v.连续猛击;磨损 | |
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28 muzzle | |
n.鼻口部;口套;枪(炮)口;vt.使缄默 | |
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29 prick | |
v.刺伤,刺痛,刺孔;n.刺伤,刺痛 | |
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30 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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31 hearth | |
n.壁炉炉床,壁炉地面 | |
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32 wrought | |
v.引起;以…原料制作;运转;adj.制造的 | |
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33 vengeance | |
n.报复,报仇,复仇 | |
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34 dissent | |
n./v.不同意,持异议 | |
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35 slander | |
n./v.诽谤,污蔑 | |
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36 groom | |
vt.给(马、狗等)梳毛,照料,使...整洁 | |
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37 ace | |
n.A牌;发球得分;佼佼者;adj.杰出的 | |
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38 astonishment | |
n.惊奇,惊异 | |
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39 scent | |
n.气味,香味,香水,线索,嗅觉;v.嗅,发觉 | |
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40 sterling | |
adj.英币的(纯粹的,货真价实的);n.英国货币(英镑) | |
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41 slurred | |
含糊地说出( slur的过去式和过去分词 ); 含糊地发…的声; 侮辱; 连唱 | |
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42 concealed | |
a.隐藏的,隐蔽的 | |
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43 spoke | |
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说 | |
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44 covert | |
adj.隐藏的;暗地里的 | |
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45 embarrassment | |
n.尴尬;使人为难的人(事物);障碍;窘迫 | |
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46 scrutiny | |
n.详细检查,仔细观察 | |
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47 adroit | |
adj.熟练的,灵巧的 | |
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48 shrieked | |
v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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49 shrilly | |
尖声的; 光亮的,耀眼的 | |
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50 fiery | |
adj.燃烧着的,火红的;暴躁的;激烈的 | |
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51 uproar | |
n.骚动,喧嚣,鼎沸 | |
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52 aperture | |
n.孔,隙,窄的缺口 | |
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53 irresolute | |
adj.无决断的,优柔寡断的,踌躇不定的 | |
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54 gasped | |
v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 );喘息;倒抽气;很想要 | |
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55 hoary | |
adj.古老的;鬓发斑白的 | |
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56 jack | |
n.插座,千斤顶,男人;v.抬起,提醒,扛举;n.(Jake)杰克 | |
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57 collapsed | |
adj.倒塌的 | |
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58 taut | |
adj.拉紧的,绷紧的,紧张的 | |
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59 spun | |
v.纺,杜撰,急转身 | |
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60 adversary | |
adj.敌手,对手 | |
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61 scrambled | |
v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 );攀登;争夺;(军事飞机)紧急起飞 | |
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62 squatted | |
v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的过去式和过去分词 );非法擅自占用(土地或房屋);为获得其所有权;而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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63 streaked | |
adj.有条斑纹的,不安的v.快速移动( streak的过去式和过去分词 );使布满条纹 | |
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64 downwards | |
adj./adv.向下的(地),下行的(地) | |
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65 lashed | |
adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 );煽动;紧系;怒斥 | |
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66 upwards | |
adv.向上,在更高处...以上 | |
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67 hurled | |
v.猛投,用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 );大声叫骂 | |
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68 immolation | |
n.牺牲品 | |
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69 sobbing | |
<主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的 | |
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70 climax | |
n.顶点;高潮;v.(使)达到顶点 | |
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71 prelude | |
n.序言,前兆,序曲 | |
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72 peal | |
n.钟声;v.鸣响 | |
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73 subterranean | |
adj.地下的,地表下的 | |
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74 belch | |
v.打嗝,喷出 | |
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75 crater | |
n.火山口,弹坑 | |
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76 monstrous | |
adj.巨大的;恐怖的;可耻的,丢脸的 | |
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77 spout | |
v.喷出,涌出;滔滔不绝地讲;n.喷管;水柱 | |
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78 fungus | |
n.真菌,真菌类植物 | |
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79 tinkling | |
n.丁当作响声 | |
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80 tottered | |
v.走得或动得不稳( totter的过去式和过去分词 );踉跄;蹒跚;摇摇欲坠 | |
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